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There’s a lot that needs to be addressed in terms of allocating the necessary funds and finding the ideal location for the Argos to set up their football shop.

For now and for the foreseeable future, they’ll have to muddle along and fly by the seat of their pants when Mother Nature throws a curve ball.

In a nutshell, the working environment surrounding the Argos, who won a Grey Cup in spite of the many headaches and decaying office conditions with their football operations, are a joke.

To be blunt, it’s an embarrassment, but an issue that seems to have no resolution in sight.

On Wednesday — the opening of rookie camp no less — the Argos were forced to vacate their temporary home in Mississauga and had to bus it to Oakville, where a nearby construction site would provide the perfect metaphor to describe the team’s state, at least when it comes to a home practice facility.

Amid this unbearable working condition would filter news that Ricky Ray and the Argos are moving closer in negotiating a long-term deal.

A day earlier, it was believed nothing would be imminent, but talks clearly have gone in the right direction to the point where something official may be announced as early as Thursday.

No one with the Argos could say where practice will be held because no one knows with certainty the playing field that awaits the team at the University of Toronto Mississauga.

It’s almost amazing how a player of Ray’s ability would want to commit when there’s been absolutely no consistency in where the Argos practise.

During their run to the Grey Cup last year the Argos spent, on average, 40 minutes driving to a facility in a league where players are limited in the amount of time they’ll exposed on a daily basis.

They have no control over dates at Rogers Centre and are basically treated as second-class citizens, a fact of football life that leads to no consistency in a home schedule.

When he left Edmonton, Ray left behind the CFL model in how working environments should be established.

David Braley, who will get to tap into yet another Grey Cup revenue stream next season, his third in four years, has to step up to the plate one day to decide what legacy he wants to leave as the Argos owner.

Getting Ray signed was a no-brainer, especially when one considers the lucrative TV money each team has been allotted in the wake of the CFL and TSN signing off on a new long-term deal.

In Ray and head coach Scott Milanovich, the Argos have the perfect QB-coaching tandem any team at any level would covet.

In general manager Jim Barker, there’s a sounding board and an experienced voice who has seen it all in three-down football, a tireless worker who is a football man from the moment he gets out of bed.

There’s a lot to be optimistic about in terms of the on-field product, but the Argos have to one day get their house in order and not be left twisting in the wind.

It should come as no surprise that Wednesday’s gathering was marred by players dropping like stones because of injuries and a pace of practice Milanovich does not tolerate.

When the field at UTM was deemed unworthy, the team had to scramble to find a suitable location.

For years, no matter what ownership the Argos had, no matter what suit was spouting corporate talk, the team has talked about a permanent fixture to call their practice home.

Some 17 years later, they’re still waiting.

At least the Argos won’t have to wait for a proven quarterback who is committed for the long haul.

Ricky Ray won two Grey Cups in Edmonton, where the CFL, unlike Toronto, matters.

He now has a chance to win at least two as an Argo and perhaps even more.

Imagine how much better the Argos would be if they didn’t have to deal with so much unnecessary distractions, such as the one that played out on Wednesday.

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Argos, Ray closing in on deal

There’s a lot that needs to be addressed in terms of allocating the necessary funds and finding the ideal location for the Argos to set up their football shop.

For now and for the foreseeable future, they’ll have to muddle along and fly by the seat of their pants when Mother Nature throws a curve ball.

In a nutshell, the working environment surrounding the Argos, who won a Grey Cup in spite of the many headaches and decaying office conditions with their football operations, are a joke.

To be blunt, it’s an embarrassment, but an issue that seems to have no resolution in sight.

On Wednesday — the opening of rookie camp no less — the Argos were forced to vacate their temporary home in Mississauga and had to bus it to Oakville, where a nearby construction site would provide the perfect metaphor to describe the team’s state, at least when it comes to a home practice facility.